Comparison microscope



COMPARISON MICROSCOPE Filed sept. 29, 19s? y Ff BY @2f Patented Dec. 26, 1939 UNITED" STATES coMPARrsoN mcnoscorn Frltz'Meinhardt and Hans Fricke.Wetzlar, Germany, assignors to Ernst Leitz, G. m. b. H.,

Wetzlar, Germany Application September 29, 1937, Serial No. 166,295

In Germany October 10, 1936 V4 claims.'

Comparisonlmicroscopes have heretofore been so .constructed that the partly silvered surface inwhich the two bundles of light rays from the two objects are united is positioned between the l 6 two objectives and the ocular. This is a disadvantage because such constructionrequires the use of two and sometimes four objectives and the' apparatus becomes very bulky.

The object of'this invention is to provide an l optical system Vfor comparison microscopesV so arranged that the light rays uniting surface is interposed between the objective and the objects.

20 Accordingly the invention is embodied in a l comparison microscope and an optical system therefor arranged and constructed as hereinafter set forth and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

25 Fig. 1 is'a view partly in section and partly in elevation of a comparison microscope embodying the invention.

'A I Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an .optical system different from that shown in Fig. 1.

3o Fig. -3 illustrates a modication.

Referring to Fig. 1 the numeral 5 indicates a housing provided with a handle 6. To lthe housing there is secured a microscope 1 which in this instance is shown as being a stereomicroscope 35 which includes an objective '8, prisms 9 and III and an ocular II.- An adjustment for focusing the microscopeis indicated at I2. I3 is a. glass body for uniting the light rays from the objects in the partly silvered'surface It in said glass 40 body which is located in voptical alinement with the objective axis of the microscope atan angle of forty-five degrees thereto. The housing 5 has a bottom I5 and a rear wall I6 at a right angle to each other, the rear wall being parallel to the 45 plane of the objective axis as shown.

The bottom :wall I5-supports a glass plate Il which is provided with a reliecting surface It! adjacentthe edge 2| of an aperture in which the glass plate is seated. .The wall I6 supports 50 a glass-plate I9 having a reflecting surface 20 adjacent th'e` edge.22 of the aperture in whichvthe plate I9 is seated. The objects 2S and 244 are illuminated by-a lamp supported in a housing.-

which also supports two condensers 26 and 21.

. 281s areectlng mirror. Aprotecting planeglassNK One-half' of the area of the object (ci. :5s-3a) plate 50 is placed above the glass body I3. The two objects may be attached to the microscope by any suitable means, not shown, or they may be supported by any other means, not shown, and the microscope simply pushed into operative con- 5 tact with them. The paths of the illuminating rays are indicated by arrows. The glass bodies and lenses in the drawing are purposely not shown in section for the sake of clearness.

The rays from the lamp for illuminating the l0 object 23 pass through the condenser 26 and the glass plate I'l to the object.' One half of this Abundle of rays is reflected back into Athe lamp by the reflecting surface I8. The other half of the bundle of rays illuminates the object 23 and from the latter a certain portion .of the rays pass upwardly to the glass body I3. In this body about one half of the light rays coming from the object 23 pass through the partly silvered semi-transparent surface It and into the optical system ofthe microscope. The remaining half of these light rays is reected to one ,side towards the wall of the casing. The other object 24 is illuminated by light rays which pass from the lamp through the condenser 2l upwardsto 25 the silvered mirror 28 which reects the rays upon the object through the glass plate i9. One half of this bundle of rays is reflected by the `reflecting surface 20 back into the mirror 28 and thence back into the lamp. A certain portion of 30 lthe other half of said rays pass to the glassl body I3 and to the surface I which also vin this instance lets about one half of the light rays pass c through while the other half of this bundle of light rays from theobject 2li is reected upwardly into the optical system of the microscope vvto form the image therein of the object 24.`

It is clear from the drawing that the elds of the objects are so arranged that they are complementary to each other and the image of each occupies one half of the eld ofview, sharply separated by a line which is an image of the edges 2l and 22. From the prism I3 the light rays pass into the microscope in the usual manner asindicated. Fig. 2 illustrates an arrangement in which th microscope isf'epresented by the objective 8. OtherLparts which are similar to the same parts in Fig. 1 are numbered accordingly. 'I'he condensers 26 and 2'I have their optical axes at a right angle to each other, whereas in Fig. 1 these apres are 130 apart. Between' the condensers and the glass body I3 there is placed a partly silvered glass plate 36. a

23 is covcomparing the images of two objects comprising' ered by 4a mask 3| which has a reflecting surface 33 and one-half of the area of the object 24 is covered by a mask 32 having a reflecting surface 34. The'surfaces 33 and34 are at an angle of forty ive degrees to the optical axes through the condensers.

As shown in the drawing, the light rays from the lamp are reflected by the plate 30 upon the objects. Those rays which are directed against the reflecting surfaces 33 and 34 are reiiected out of the device as indicated by the arrows. The other rays from the lamp which illuminate the objects are diffusedly reiiected from the objects and a certain portion of said rays pass through the plate 30 to the glass body I3 and to the reflecting. surface I4 where about one half of these other image forming rays lare reflected into the optical system of the microscope. In the latter the two images of the two objects arel formed and appear in side by side relation with a .sharp dividing line between them which line is an image of the lower edges of the inclined surfaces 33 and 34 of the masks 3| and 32.

The masks 3| and 32 may be metal plates with polished surfaces 33 and 34. Fig. 3 shows a modification in which a plane parallel glass plate 40 is placed over the object adjacent the mask 4|. The glass plate has a reflecting surface 42 for reiiecting the rays to one side away from the apparatus.

The disclosure herein possesses several advantages. As shown and described it is clear that in order to examine two objects an ordinary microscope with a single objective may be used which includes the further advantage that, with a microscope already at hand, it is only necessary to procure the base arrangement of this device and then use the microscope tube therewith. If a stereomicroscope is used only two objectives are necessary with this invention. It is also within the scope of the invention to substitute aclear plano-parallel glass glate for the partly silvered glass plate shown in Figure 2.

We `claim.' 1. A comparison microscope for simultaneously rays from the illuminated objects, a glass body interposed between the objects and the microscope in the paths of the light rays from-the illuminated objects, said glassbody having a semi-transparent, semi-reecting surface therein for directing the image forming light rays from the illuminated objects to pass by transmission from one of the said objects and by reflection from the other of said objects into the optical system of the microscope, an optical system in the microscope for forming the images of the objects therein, said system including an objective and vmeans in said housing for supporting said glass body and surface in optical operative relation to the objects and the microscope between the objects and the said objective to direct the image forming light rays as aforesaid.

2. In a comparison microscope for comparing the images of two objects, an optical system for forming the images oi' the objects including an objective, a lamp for illuminating the objects, a mask for each object for covering one halfof the object area, each mask having a reflecting surface, a plane parallel glass semi-transparent, semi-reflecting plate interposed between the lamp and the objects on the one side and the said optical system on the oth'er side for reflecting some of the light rays from the lamp into the said mask reiiecting surfaces to be reflected away from said microscope and for transmitting the light rays from the illuminated objects towards the said optical system, a glass body between said glass plate and the said optical system, said glass body having a partly silvered surface for directing the two bundles of light rays transmitted by said plane parallel glass plate in side by side relation into the optical system for comparison purposes.

'3. A comparison -microscope for simultaneously comparing the images of two objects comprising a housing having two apertures at an angle to each other to expose one object through each aperture to view through the microscope, means for illuminating the objects, an optical system in the microscope for forming the images of the two objects in side by side relation for viewing by an observer, said system including an objective directed towards one of said objects, a semitransparent, semi-reflecting surface positioned between said objective and said objects for directing the image forming light rays from the illuminated objects to pass by transmission and reiiection into said objective and optical system of the microscope, and a mask for each object to cover complemental portions thereof leaving uncovered complemental portions of each object exposed for View and comparison, each mask having a reflecting surface at an angle to the optical axis of the microscope for the corresponding object, said mask reflecting surfaces terminating in elongated edges extending in parallelism to provide a sharp line of division between the images of the two objects as viewed.

4. A comparison microscope for simultaneously comparing the images of two objects comprising a housing having two apertures at susbtantially right angles to each other to expose one object through each aperture for view through the microscopefan optical system in the microscope for forming the images of the two objects in side by side relationship for viewing by an observer, said optical system including an objective directed towards one of said apertures, a semi-transparent, semi-reflecting surface supported in forty-five degrees relationship to the optical axis of the objective .permitting light rays from the object exposed through said last mentioned aperture to pass through said surface while reflecting the light rays from an object exposed through the viding a sharp line of division between the images of the two objects as viewed.

FRITZ MEINHARDT. HANS FRICKE. 

